SolarWorld is to present the 2010 SolarWorld Einstein Award to Nobel Peace Prize laureate and micro-finance pioneer Muhammad Yunus in September. The award is being presented in recognition of Yunus' micro-loans for the poor, created through Grameen Bank, of which he is founder, which have made possible the installation of more than 400,000 small solar power systems, securing energy supplies for people in rural regions of Bangladesh who live far from the national utility grid.
Suntech saw revenues and shipments grow to record levels during the second quarter, but the Chinese solar manufacturer experienced a net loss for the period because of impairment charges related to the shutdown of its thin-film PV efforts and prepayment provisions as part of its stake in the Shunda solar-wafer venture. Because of continuing strong demand, the company has raised its PV module shipment guidance for 2010 by 200MW and has increased its targeted production capacity to meet the larger shipment number.
Trina Solar's U.S. unit has signed a sales agreement with MEMC subsidiary SunEdison to supply 35MW of crystalline-silicon solar modules for the remainder of 2010. SunEdison expects to use the panels for projects in North America and Europe. Financial terms of the deal were not disclosed.
Extending its reach and further strengthening its overseas operations, Suntech has completed a major executive reshuffle including the appointment of a new COO and three regional presidents.
Spire has completed the installation of its equipment line at the photovoltaic module manufacturing plant established by Wanxiang Solar, a division of Wanxiang America, located in Rockford, Illinois. The 40,000 square foot plant will employ over 60 local workers.
Taiwan PolySilicon, a turnkey customer of centrotherm SiTec, has successfully passed its initial production phase and started up its 5000tn manufacturing facility. The factory, which can be upgraded to 8000tn, is said to be the largest single poly production site in Taiwan. TPSI plans to increase its manufacturing capacity to as much as 12,000tn in the coming years.
Dennis Flood, a 30-year NASA veteran who developed photovoltaic power systems for space and planetary missions, has been named CTO at Natcore Technology. The company said that he will help bring its portfolio of PV intellectual property through proof of concept and into commercialization.
Solaire Generation has been tapped to supply a system of its photovoltaic parking structures for a large commercial solar power plant at an unnamed Fortune 100 corporate office campus in central New Jersey. The 3MW-plus canopy installation, made up of 25 rows of more than 11,350 crystalline-silicon panels covering over 1350 parking spaces, was begun in July and will be completed by early 2011, according to the company.
Another up-and-coming Chinese photovoltaics manufacturer hit record revenues, net income, and product shipment numbers during the second quarter, as JinkoSolar saw its sales jump 64% and its shipments rise more than 20% during the period. The vertically integrated company, which began trading on the New York Stock Exchange in mid-May, also increased production capacities across the enterprise.
Veeco Instruments has revealed the completion of the sale of its metrology business unit to Bruker, provider of high-performance solutions and scientific instruments for molecular and materials research. The US$229 million cash transaction has been approved by both companies’ boards, and will involve the transfer of Veeco’s global business – including its atomic force microscope (AFM) business in Santa Barbara, CA and its optical industrial metrology (OIM) business in Tucson, AZ – to Bruker, which will combine the new acquisition with its existing Bruker Nano instruments business.
